In A Country Far, Far, AwayVolume 4
John Petkus

Now it is here finally, the end of my history lesson about the country many reading this have never heard of before.   As I know many of you have been following these last few writings and I will continue on from where I left off last time.
Unfortunately there are many in Bolivia who support Evo and his outlandish schemes.   Many follow out of sheer ignorance of the real world situation, some follow out of hope that he will bring wealth, and still others feel that Communism would be far better than the society they are living in now.   I doubt if many of his followers would want to see a return to the old Inca Empire with human sacrifices and those things but many are swayed by his persuasive speeches and many more simply want peace.
Then there remains the opposition.   Remnants of the old Guarani tribes see this development as a final push to take their land from them where almost all those who own their own businesses fear that their property is going to be taken by the government.   Many look at Evo Morales and wonder if he is even sane considering the many idiotic things he claims to stand for and uphold.   A recent law banning baby bottles on the pretense that they were harmful to children has lead some Bolivians to refer to their President as that madman.   Indeed there is an argument for the insanity plea!   
For the last year and a half Morales has been supporting a push to rewrite the constitution of Bolivia, a change that could potentially trigger a civil war in the region.   There has long been talk of splitting Bolivia into two portions with the Highlands predominantly being descendants of the Inca Empire and the Lowlands where most of the industrial power of the country and the descendants of the Guaran reside as I have stated in previous articles.
So what do all of these facts and history mean to us?   Well, put simply, it means the world is no longer as safe a place as we would like it to be.   As Evo Morales, Hugo Chavez, and other tyrants continue to do their best to control their populations growth and seek to ever undermine their own people, the world will remain a dangerous place for all.   They envision a united South American country with the power to play on a global scale.   I do not know that such a nation would be all bad in an economic sense but if one looks at the human element and how many people will lose their homes, property and lives, the cost of such a venture is immeasurable.   
Can we allow such a venture to take place?   South America is only a few miles from our shores, much closer then is Iraq or Afghanistan.   There is no question that these dictators are just as much of a threat to world peace as the Taliban and Saddam Hussein after 9/11. Evo Morales publicly congratulated the terrorists who had hijacked the planes and hailed them as heroes.   We have long thought that such enmity was to be found only in the Middle East or from some of the more radical forms of Islam but truth be told that it is far more prevalent than we realize on a daily basis.   The sad reality of the situation is that sometimes the things they accuse the United States of doing has some basis in reality.   Our nation has certainly not been perfect in our conduct towards other nations, even those closest to us.   Indeed some of the guilt lies at our door, not all but some.   
What can we do about it?   The first thing that needs to be done is that we need to become more aware of the world around us.   We have become far too caught up with our X-boxes and television sets and forget that there is a real world out there that needs our help.   We are responsible for the actions of our government towards the rest of the world and it is time we start owning up to our past mistakes and making corrections for our future.   We need to somehow reduce the desire for drugs here in the United States to decrease their importation.   We need to offer a solution to the Bolivian farmers so that they can grow alternative crops to coca and giving them a drug free solution to feeding their families.   Lastly we need to reach out to the people of Latin America specifically but also to all Third World countries in general with the intent of helping step outside of the boundaries of corruption and poverty that have dealt with for centuries.   We need to do this not with an egotistical holier then thou attitude but rather as equals in the world with genuine concern for each other and the well being of their citizens.   Only then can the War on Drugs, the War on Poverty and even the War on Terror truly be won.
Well it has been a fun time talking to you all about the politics and issues of Bolivia, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have and I hope you now know a little more about the world and what is going on in it.   I will see you all around or as we say in Bolivia, Hasta luego a todos! 
